A Thousand Empty Rooms
by hitamory
Summary: Following an accidental identity reveal, Danny finds himself on the run from the Guys in White as well as his own mother, who wants to 'save' him from 'being possessed by Phantom'. With nowhere else to turn, Danny finds himself on the doorstep of his most relentless pursuer, asking for her help. Thankfully, Valerie Gray is willing to lend a hand.
1. motion

For two years, he's managed to keep his secret under wraps.

Two years of new scars, strange behavior, absences, and ghost-hunting weapons mysteriously honing in on him, all explained away with a tongue as silver as his ghost half's hair.

All of it comes crashing down the moment Danny Fenton walks into an ambush in his own family's basement.

To be fair, he knew he'd have to tell them someday. But he'd been hoping it'd be on his own terms, not by random, terrible chance as it just so happens to be on this day.

He'd just gotten in a bit of a scrap with Vlad Masters, not by his own choice, and managed to win by a hair's margin. As such, he's exhausted, battered, bloodied, bruised, and not at all as perceptive to his surroundings as he'd normally be when phasing through the ceiling into the FentonWorks lab. He'd just been planning to replenish some of his energy with some of the acrid artificial ectoplasm lying around the lab before slogging back upstairs to take a nap. In retrospect, maybe he should've shifted back into his human form before entering the lab, but it's far too late for that now.

He's midway through his transition from ghost to human when his parents leap out of hiding, ecto-weapons whirring ominously, and by then it's too late to stop the transformation. They freeze up as though turned to stone, their eyes growing wide and horrified as Danny's when they witness their number one target turn into none other than their youngest child.

For a few terrifying moments, nothing happens.

Danny wants to throw up, or fabricate an excuse, or cry, or do _something_ to lighten the atmosphere, but his tongue might as well be a lump of lead in his mouth. Panic creeps up his throat, constricting his airways like the spidery fingers of Spectra trying to choke the last bit of life out of him as ice fills his veins. When his voice finally does work like he wants it to, all that comes out is a thin, pathetic, "I-I swear, I can explain…"

His voice trails off before he can say any more. His heart is thrumming against his ribs like a caged rabbit, and he's starting to shake. He swallows hard, and flinches violently when his father speaks in a confused tone. "Danny…? How long-"

"_How long have you possessed our son." _Maddie's voice is an ice-cold snarl, cutting invisible lacerations into Danny's skin and letting his terror bleed out in toxic waves.

He opens his mouth, vision already starting to blur with tears, and prepares to defend himself. "M-Mom, I-"

"_DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT! YOU ARE NOT MY SON!"_ Maddie roars, her voice bouncing off the sterile metal walls of the lab as her weapon whirs to life.

Danny has no choice; he shifts into ghost form in the blink of an eye and leaps into the air, phasing through the ceiling and out into the chilly night. If he were human, his breath would be coming in cloudy puffs, but he is not, and as such, he doesn't need to breathe in this form.

He doesn't know where to go.

Maybe Clockwork would help him, give him a place to stay until the storm passes and he can face his parents again, but the only two ghost portals he knows of are the one at FentonWorks and the one at Vlad's place in Wisconsin. Those are both off-limits, so that plan is a bust. He reaches shaking fingers up to grab at his hair as he flies erratically through the night.

He can't go to Sam's or Tucker's, because those are the first places his parents will look for him. Jazz is out of the question, too, seeing as she's halfway across the country at some Ivy League university whose name Danny is too frantic to remember. Of course, he could always _fly_ there, but his parents would definitely contact her. They'd find him, they'd catch him, and they'd… they'd…

Danny fights back the hot tears building behind his eyes, hugging himself as he tries not to let himself completely fall apart. Not yet. When he finds a safe place for the night, he'll let his emotions spill out. He's the hero of Amity Park, he can't let the people who believe in him see him in such a low, unheroic state.

He doesn't feel like a hero right now.

Regardless, he can't let anyone see him so close to crumbling at the seams, everyone here sees him as a beacon of hope and light-

-no, that's not right. Not everyone sees him like that.

Someone other than his parents… _she_ doesn't think he's some comic-book superhero.

Wait...

...Danny knows where to go.

He has no idea if this'll end with him being shot dead or supported by an unlikely ally, but either outcome is fine with him. He has nothing else to lose.

He blinks rapidly before changing direction and making a beeline for the place he needs to go.

* * *

Valerie Gray is enjoying a quiet Friday night up in her bedroom, watching stupid videos on YouTube and eating ice cream directly from the pail, and as such is woefully unprepared when the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and a paranormal chill radiates from the corner of her room. Immediately, she flicks her right wrist, kicks her rolling chair back away from her desk, and leaps to her feet. The black-and-red bracelet on her wrist hums mechanically before a small electrical weapon unfolds from it, ready to fire.

"I _thought_ you said you'd stay the _hell_ away from my house." She hisses, eyes narrowing as she tries her best to look menacing. Of course, it's not easy to look like a force to be reckoned with when you're holding a tub of mint chocolate-chip ice cream, wearing paw-print sweatpants, and swimming in a t-shirt that's about two hundred sizes too large for you, but Valerie's gotten good at her death glare and by God she's not about to back down now.

Well, she wasn't _going_ to back down, but when she takes in Phantom's appearance, she lowers her weapon with a cocked eyebrow.

He keeps his eerily-glowing eyes trained on the floorboards and hugs himself like a child waking from a nightmare, which certainly isn't a look Valerie imagined she'd ever see on Phantom's face. Not to mention, his hooded black-and-white jumpsuit is torn and stained with slowly congealing ectoplasm, and the acrid, ozone-and-burning-plastic stink of ghost blood is filling the room.

But what catches her the most by surprise are the fat tears that begin rolling down his cheeks at the same time his slumping shoulders shudder.

Something happened. Nothing- and Valerie _means _nothing- shakes Phantom. Not relentless maiming, threats, insults, not even actual _torture_ phases him. Amity Park's most well-known and sassy ghost _never_ stops being, well, himself.

In spite of her distaste for the ghost, Valerie deactivates her ecto-weapon and runs a hand through her hair. After taking a moment to silently lament her misfortune, she sucks in a deep breath and swallows her pride.

"You look like shit."

Phantom lets out a pathetic attempt at laughter that's more of a huffing breath than anything else. He still doesn't smile. Instead, he looks at Valerie with wide, pleading eyes and speaks in a trembling voice. "C-can I… can I stay here? J-just for the night? I can sleep outside, I just, I can't-" he takes a hiccuping breath, "-I can't go home."

"_Are you serious?"_ Valerie chokes out before she can think better of it, and almost feels guilty when the ghost flinches at her tone.

He doesn't reply to her remark, and the moments of silence between them stretch into infinity and back again before Valerie finally finds her voice. "Fine. Fine. Okay. Whatever. But you're explaining all…" she gestures vaguely at him, "..._this_ confusing crap to me in the morning. And then you'd better get out and stay at _least _ten nautical miles from my house at all times."

"_Thank you," _Phantom whispers in a tone so full of relief and gratitude that Valerie, once again, almost feels bad for him. Almost.

As he starts floating towards the ceiling, however, Valerie clears her throat to stop him. Once he meets her eyes, she furrows her brow and crosses her arms. "You don't have to sleep outside. Sleep wherever the heck you want, but if you kill me in my sleep, _my _ghost is gonna kick _your_ wispy ass for the next billion years."

"I-it's okay, I can-"

"_**COME. HERE,"**_ Valerie hisses, and that murderous tone must do the trick, because Phantom obediently floats down, lands on silent feet, and approaches.

Another long silence stretches between them before Valerie points at the beanbag chair in the corner and says, "I don't know if ghosts actually _need _sleep, but if you do sleep, use the beanbag chair. It took me two months to save up for that thing, so if you wreck it, I'll kill you and make _you_ into a new beanbag chair."

"G-got it," Phantom murmurs, his eyes flicking up to momentarily meet hers. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You owe me an explanation in the morning."

"Are you… are you sure you want one…?"

"Abso-freaking-lutely. Go to bed."

A pause. Then, Phantom walks past her towards the beanbag chair with a whisper of, "Okay. I think I can tell you."

Though, she scarcely pays any attention to his words.

She's too busy grappling with the sudden revelation that despite being a ghost…

...Phantom breathes like a living human.

* * *

Danny doesn't sleep.

His mind and body are too busy and high-strung to let him fall asleep, and despite the way this thought makes him nauseous, he's afraid that he'll wake up strapped to an examination table in his parents' lab, his mom standing over him as she insists she's saving him. He swallows hard, fingertips digging into his forearms as he draws his knees even tighter to his chest.

He wants to sleep, he really does, but he can't let his eyes drift shut. He doesn't know what'll happen if he does.

His mind runs in wild circles, chasing itself around and around with no concise point until the morning sun starts filtering in through the window, chasing away the shadows that drift across Valerie's floor and making Danny feel as though time itself has distorted like raindrops on a car window. He doesn't even have his phone on him so he can't check the time, and he's not about to stand up from where he's sitting on Valerie's bean bag chair. Regardless of whether or not Valerie will kill him, he does want to ask for her help and come clean about his situation.

Not long after the golden morning light cuts through the blinds, Valerie takes a breath and rolls over in bed. Danny feels himself tense up at the sound and lowers his gaze to the floor, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. And, after an indeterminate amount of time, he hears Valerie groan and her groggy voice mutter, "_I was hoping this was all a horrible dream."_

"Sorry." Danny sighs without looking up.

With a yawn, Valerie shifts and steps out of bed, her feet scarcely making a sound as she walks across her room to sit down in her rolling chair. She wastes no time in immediately spinning around and fixating Danny with a suspicious scowl, drumming her fingertips on her desk impatiently and grumbling, "So? Spill it."

"I… okay. So, um." He takes a difficult breath. "I- my parents found out about, um… about me being Phantom? And my… my mom wants to, uh, 'save' me. But her idea of 'saving' me is-is... it's going to be horribly painful and I'll probably be dead by the end of it. Like, _actually_ dead."

Valerie's fingers stop drumming on the desk, leading to a silence so tense it could be cut with a knife. "Two questions. One, how do you have parents? And two, what do you mean by 'actually' dead? _You're a freaking ghost."_

_Here goes, _Danny thinks to himself with a deep breath.

"I- n-no, not... not exactly. I'm half-ghost."

"What the _shit_ does that mean?"

"It _means,"_ he murmurs, forcing his trembling body to shift from ghost to human once more, "it means I've been lying to everyone about me, Phantom, and the accident in my parents' lab. And now, my own _mom_ is going to _experiment on me _like I'm some kind of _animal."_

He doesn't look at Valerie. He _can't_. He can feel the way her eyes burn into him, inspecting every layer of his fucked-up existence and hunting for answers to questions she won't ask, despite how Danny just revealed his most well-kept secret and thus laid himself bare in front of her. His throat bobs as he swallows back another wave of suffocating emotion.

"Okay," Valerie says in an indecipherable tone after god-knows-how long. "Of all the things I was expecting, this was absolutely _not_ one of them."

_This is it. She's going to kill me._

Danny squeezes his eyes shut, still hugging himself pathetically where he sits in the corner and waits for Valerie to blast him full of holes.

Yet, the attack doesn't come.

The wheels on her rolling chair clack over the floorboards as she stands up, and Danny tenses as he hears her footsteps drawing nearer. He doesn't _want _to die… but what choice does he have? This is the easiest way out for him, his parents, _everyone-_

Valerie kneels in front of him and places a hand on his shoulder. The shock of the unexpectedly gentle touch forces Danny to look up, eyes wide with confusion, and all he sees is that determined 'I-know-what-I'm-gonna-do-and-nobody's-gonna-stop-me-from-doing-it' look Valerie gets whenever she sets her mind to something. There's no murderous intent, no white-hot hatred, _none_ of the negative feedback he was expecting.

"So this is why you're so jumpy all the time," Valerie states simply, and Danny brings an ectoplasm-stained arm up to wipe at his eyes which are still leaking tears and leaving hot salt tracks on his cheeks.

"I… I'm _sorry, _I'm-" Danny begins, but Valerie shuts him up with a sharp noise.

"I kind of want to punch you right now," she says, "for not telling me _before_ I decided to hunt you down. But I'll save that for later, when you don't look like a kicked puppy."

"I- no I _don't-"_

"_Yeeeahhh, _you do."

"I don't-!"

Valerie shuts him up again before yawning and rising to her feet. "You've got money, right?"

"Uh… y-yeah, I can pay you to hide me-"

"Nah, you're just paying for gas."

Danny blinks owlishly. "What do you mean, _gas?"_

"I have a car, _duh,_ how else are we gonna get the hell out of Amity Park and away from your mom?" Valerie says with one eyebrow cocked, as if her solution is obvious.

Danny, however, takes a few moments to process what she means, staring blankly at her with bleary blue eyes until the pieces fall into place. He rises shakily to his feet and gives Valerie an incredulous look before he exclaims, "You- are you _actually_ serious? You think we should just run away?"

"Uh, yeah?" Valerie scoffs. "I've been wanting to get out of town for a while now, and you're actually gonna be murdered if you stay. Two birds with one stone. Also, I think you need some time to yourself, away from all the ghost-hunting crap, so we can come up with a way to convince your mom that you're _not_ some evil boogeyman controlling her kid."

As Valerie spins on her heel to grab her backpack, Danny trails after her in a stupor. "You're _kidding. _Where are we even gonna _go?!"_

"I dunno. Canada seems nice."

"_I don't have a passport!"_

"You don't need a passport if you can turn invisible."

"_That's not the issue here!"_

Valerie turns to face him with a withering look, crossing her arms as she does so. "Look, you came to me for help. I'm helping. What's your deal?"

Danny opens his mouth to speak, then thinks better of it and looks back down at the floor. "I… I don't know. I just- I guess I don't want to drag you into my mess."

"Too late for that, Fenton," Valerie replies in a mischievous tone. "I got involved in this ghost-hunting crap the day you and your stupid ghost dog popped out of nowhere."

At the memory, Danny can't help but wince. "Y-yeah, I-"

"Oh, _oh shit,_ I didn't mean- I was trying to make a joke, I really don't _care_ about what happened back then- I'm just gonna shut up now." Valerie sighs, dragging a hand down her face. "If you want, you can take a quick shower before we go. You look like you need one."

Danny starts to shake his head, but Valerie isn't having it. She fixes him with a searing glare that shuts him up in an instant, then turns back to her closet and gestures nonchalantly with a hand. "Towels are in the hall closet. Don't take long, we gotta leave before your mom tracks you down."

He wants to say something, to protest, to insist he doesn't need her to be nice to him… but the words won't come. So he resigns himself to his fate and turns to leave the room.

It's a crappy, mind-bending situation, but Danny can appreciate the little kindnesses when they do come.

* * *

_**September 04, 2019 - 04:43**_

_**Daniel (Danny) Fenton has not been seen by Samantha (Sam) Manson and Tucker Foley since September 3, 2019 at approx. 19:30, which confirms prior suspicions that the ghost known as 'Phantom' has indeed possessed him and fled. Will contact the GIW in regards to methods of extracting an ectoplasmic entity from a human being, as current parameters and tools are insufficient.**_

_**Will offer Phantom to the GIW as reimbursement for allowing FentonWorks to utilize more sophisticated tools. Plan is as follows: **_

_**-utilize available tools and strategies to capture Phantom**_

_**-contain the malevolent entity**_

_**-employ the GIW to assist in freeing Daniel Fenton from Phantom's control**_

_**Will update logs as progress is made.**_

_**~ Dr. Madeline Fenton**_

Hey everyone! Hita here! This is the pilot chapter of a fic I've had in mind for a while, centred on a friendship between Valerie and Danny as they try to solve a very very intimidating problem. A little disclaimer: I don't truly hate any characters, and I sure as hell don't hate Maddie. This is more about exploring how people react to certain things they don't expect, and in this case, the fic is gonna explore a distraught Maddie, so confused and upset by this revelation that all she sees is what she wants to believe, that her son is being possessed by a ghost rather than actually _being_ one. On the other end of things, the fic will also explore Valerie learning to be more openminded about ghosts, and Danny learning to communicate with people more. There's gonna be highs and lows, but at the end of the day, this fic isn't supposed to bum anyone out. I have _so much fluff planned for this bitch you have no idea_.

Last thing: while i appreciate romantic relationships in fanfic, I've spent years writing romantic relationships, and my last venture into fanfic was in the My Hero Academia fanbase which was a bloody nightmare. And as such, I'm kinda tired of writing them myself. Maybe its because I'm aro-ace. I dunno. But in any case, this fic is not exploring a romantic relationship between Danny and Val, but rather an incredibly strong platonic one. Queerplatonic is the best way I can describe it. I'm sorry if this disappoints you.

Anyways, thank you for reading and following my content, and I hope you enjoy this new little project!


	2. spiders blanket the sky

_**Chapter warnings: Cursing, violence, Vlad being Vlad**_

* * *

As it turns out, taking a shower does help Danny's mood quite a bit.

Not only does he manage to get all the inhuman green blood scrubbed off his skin, but the hot water seeps into his aching bones and muscles, easing the tension out of them. Of course, his skin still hurts where his injuries healed, but that's normal enough. He'll just sneak down to the lab and swipe some ectoplasm from the-

-Oh, right. He can't do that anymore. His stomach twists with anxiety once again at the realization that he's no longer welcome in his family's house. To them- or at least to his mom- he's the _enemy_, not deserving of the same right to exist as any other human being… and now that he's on the opposite side as them regardless of what form he's in, he wonders why that is. Of course, some ghosts take pleasure in causing chaos and havoc in the human world and need to be sent back to the Ghost Zone, but why are _all_ of them treated the same? Why should Cujo or Dorathea be treated like monsters in the same category as Undergrowth or Technus? It's not _fair._

As he pulls the shirt Valerie had lent him over his head, he gets an odd feeling, filling him with a sense of overpowering _wrongness_ all the way into his bones and core. Something's going to happen in the next few minutes, and if the feeling is anything to go off of, that 'something' is gonna be bad. With a shuddering breath, he finishes pulling on his borrowed sweatpants, hangs his towel neatly on the rack, and unlocks the bathroom door.

Across the hall, Valerie is zipping a second backpack shut, muttering curses under her breath as she forces the overstuffed bag to close. Danny almost wants to laugh at the ridiculous pose she's pulling, but the foreboding feeling keeps him from doing so. Regardless, he wants to alert her to his presence before walking in, so he raps his knuckles on the chipped-up doorframe to catch her attention.

"You don't have to knock," Valerie puffs as she throws her entire weight against the worn backpack. "I don't really care who comes into my room, you _know _that."

"I-I… yeah, it's just." Danny's own voice sounds unfamiliar to him, hoarse and raspy from the emotional rollercoaster he's been forced into riding. "...I'm a gho-"

"You finish that sentence and I'll kick your butt into next Wednesday," Valerie interrupts as she finally manages to force the backpack shut, glaring over her shoulder at him.

For a time, neither of them say anything, merely holding each other's wildly contrasting gazes. Though when the silence finally breaks, it's Danny who speaks first. "I'm not dumping on myself, I swear, I just, um… I know you don't like ghosts, and I didn't want to freak you out."

Valerie's glare softens at his words and she sighs heavily. "This is a _totally _different situation, Danny. You might be half-ghost, but you're still my friend- probably my _best_ friend- and friends have each other's backs. So I'm not gonna try shooting you, or stabbing you, or turning you in, or anything like that. You got me?"

"I got you." Danny replies.

Valerie gives him a sympathetic smile, and he wants to return it, to let her know that she's helping him by saying what she does... but the strange feeling of something amiss grows even stronger and prevents him from doing so. Instead, he glances past Valerie at the window.

Just as he takes a step towards the window, the doorbell rings.

Downstairs, Danny can hear Mr. Gray moving to answer the door. The strange feeling gets even more oppressive. Danny can't ignore it anymore- he races to the window and peers down at the front step, and what he sees makes his heart sink and his blood run colder than normal.

Three men in spotless white suits and black sunglasses stand at the door.

"Oh, _fuck,"_ Danny hisses through his teeth as he backs away from the window.

"What?" Valerie asks before peering through the window herself and narrowing her eyes. "Goddammit. We won't make it through the front or back doors before they notice us… I guess we could go out the window?"

"The window's gonna have to work." Danny groans. "I've heard horror stories about the GIW from other ghosts, and I am _not _gonna be turned into some… some kind of _test subject._ I'll die a second time before I let them catch me."

Valerie adjusts her weaponized bracelet with a pensive look. "Well, I can stall them. If you fly out the window and start my car-"

"_No. _You're not a ghost, but they'll interrogate you for information. They're like a paranormal version of the KGB- they'll make you disappear, drag you off to some facility in the middle of nowhere and torture you for information. I'm not letting that happen. Either both of us go, or neither of us do."

Despite the stern yet pleading tone he uses to stress his point, Valerie still gives Danny a defiant look that worries him. The scowl only lasts for a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity before Valerie heaves a sigh and runs a hand through her curly black hair. "Y'know, that's a great point. I'm really not in the mood to be kidnapped and tortured by creepy bald men, and I don't think I'll _ever_ be."

As Danny heaves a sigh of relief, the door opens downstairs and he jumps, feeling his heart rabbiting against his ribs wildly. Of course, he's always been able to fight off the GIW before, but each time was when his core was fully 'charged'. He's not been to the ghost zone or ingested any ectoplasm in at least four days, and while he's still a formidable ghost to fight, the GIW would have no trouble catching him in this state. Noticing his anxiety, Valerie moves past him to shut the door quietly. Once that's done, she points to the two backpacks on the bed and whispers, "_The purple one's yours. Put it on and help me barricade the door."_

Danny doesn't need to be told twice; he slings the backpack over his shoulder before darting over to where Valerie wraps her hands around her dresser. She gestures for him to lift the other end, and he does. From there, they lift the immensely heavy wooden dresser off the floor and set it down against the closed door. After wandering the room and piling more stuff in front of the door to strengthen their improvised barricade, Valerie and Danny return to the bed in the centre of the room, where Valerie grabs her own blue backpack before approaching her closet and rummaging around in it.

"Gotcha!" Valerie remarks to herself as she pulls her red-and-black hoverboard out of the closet.

With an eyebrow cocked, Danny says, "Your dad never found it in there? That's such an obvious place to hide something like that."

Valerie shrugs. "He either hasn't gone through my closet, or _has_ gone through it and just doesn't care that I have the board. But we'll talk about this later, let's just get the hell-"

"_You don't have a warrant, you can't just force your way into my home!" _Mr. Gray's shout carries through the house from the main floor, which makes both Danny and Valerie widen their eyes in horror.

In response, a stranger's deep voice growls, "_You are harboring a paranormal entity in your home. We are well within our rights to enter, as the creature poses a threat to civilians."_

"_I don't care if you're the ICE or FBI or some other government organization, get out of my house!"_

"_Resist and we will not hesitate to use force."_

For a few heartbeats, Valerie freezes and Danny recognizes the look in her eyes- she wants to rush to her father's aid. In all honesty, if she did change her mind and ended up trying to help her dad, Danny wouldn't even be angry. Hell, he'd help her. In fact, he's just about to offer his help when she shakes her head as if to clear it and grabs the sleeve of Danny's shirt. "Let's get going!"

"Are you sure?" Danny protests as she starts dragging him towards the window. "I'm down for helping you fight off-"

"_Window. Now."_ Valerie snaps.

Realizing that there's no way he's going to sway Valerie from her goal of getting them both out of her house, Danny resigns himself to whatever she's planning. With the same chill that always accompanies it, Danny shifts into ghost form with ease. Beside him, Valerie makes a move to power up her board.

Before she can, however, Danny tentatively places a hand on her shoulder and says, "I've got this," which earns him a confused look. That expression soon fades into surprise and mild wonder when Danny activates his intangibility, adjusts his grip on Valerie, and phases the both of them through the wall. Valerie looks down in shock at the ground below, but she doesn't have much time to be startled before Danny carefully floats them both down to the sidewalk next to Valerie's car.

She looks like she wants to say something, but remembers what they're doing and doesn't voice her thoughts. Instead, she quickly unlocks her car and tosses her board and backpack in the back seat. Danny throws his own backpack over the passenger seat with a thud before hopping in and shutting the door. At the same time, he vaguely picks up the sound of one of the GIW agents shouting, "_Phantom escaped through the window!"_

Anything else the agents say is drowned out when Valerie puts the key in the ignition and powers up the engine, which Danny is honestly thankful for. He doesn't want to know what else they're planning to do.

Either way, the three agents come racing out the front door, weapons drawn as Valerie slams on the gas and her car's tires squeal against the pavement. A pickup truck honks loudly as they veer into the road in front of it.

Danny hasn't been driving with Valerie in a year at least, but he _knows _she's never been this crazy at the wheel- at least not that he's aware of. Where she'd been a defensive and careful driver on the same level as Jazz before, she's now gone full _Mad Max,_ and Danny feels his fingernails digging into the armrests.

Valerie runs a red light, and Danny's pretty sure his soul just left his body.

In an effort to distract himself from feeling like he's going to die, Danny looks at the glove compartment in front of him and asks, "So, uh, where are we going…?"

"I know a guy in town," Valerie replies nonchalantly as she passes a semi truck in a no-passing zone. "He's a dick, but I know things he doesn't and if it's me who's asking, he might help us along."

Danny feels every muscle in his body tense up. He's pretty sure he knows who this 'guy' is, and if past events are anything to go by, then he's absolutely _not_ going to help them along. He swallows nervously. "Uh… w-would this guy happen to be Vlad Masters?"

Valerie heaves an exasperated sigh. "Unfortunately, yeah. You remember that whole thing with Plasmius and Danielle?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, I went back to check on Vlad after you two left, and I saw with my own eyes that he and Plasmius are the same guy. He doesn't know that I know, though. He still thinks I'm working for him, and as long as he thinks that, he'll probably do me a favor." Valerie explains slowly as she turns off onto the road to Vlad's neighbourhood. "He knows your secret, I imagine."

Danny nods. "He found out about me before I found out about him. It was… a rough night for me."

"Probably." She hums. "So, have you got any ideas on what we should say to him?"

"Wait, you're telling me you _don't have a plan?"_

"Well sor_-ry_ Sergeant Snarky, I was busy with _other things!"_

Dragging a hand down his face with a slow exhale, Danny mumbles, "You're right. Sorry. I guess we should come up with some ideas then."

"Let me pull over. We might as well flesh out our plan before we're where Vlad can see us."

* * *

When they finally manage to flesh out a plan, it makes the both of them feel gross and barely eases any of the stress Valerie and Danny feel. Valerie can't exactly speak for Danny, but if he feels the same way he did during the 'Danielle Incident', she's pretty sure he's feeling crappy about having to ask Vlad for help. Well, beggars can't be choosers, and it's Valerie who's gonna be doing the talking anyways.

Although the haunted look in Danny's eyes could probably stir up sympathy in even the coldest of hearts.

Valerie turns her eyes back to the road. Up ahead, the silhouette of Vlad's mansion towers above all the other posh, extravagant estates lining the road. At one point, Valerie considered that mansion a welcome sight, a home away from home with a kind, selfless man living alone in it. Now, however, the only memories that Vlad's house brings her are Danielle's agonized, desperate screams, the laughing face of Vlad Masters as he gloats over how he'd tricked Valerie, and Danny's slumped figure and quavering voice when he thought he'd failed in saving Danielle. Valerie's fingers tighten around the wheel.

"Are you okay?" Danny asks quietly, his voice chasing away the horrifying sounds and sights that still haunt her.

She considers brushing off his concern and replying with a noncommittal 'I'm fine', but when she thinks about how much her friend has revealed to her since appearing in her room, she shrugs and changes her mind. Valerie opens her mouth and glances aside, preparing to answer him, when an incredibly unwelcome image works its way to the forefront of her brain.

Until now, she hadn't given a second thought to this- she's a ghost hunter, after all, ghosts' feelings don't matter to her- but now that Danny _Fenton _is looking at her with his silver hair and sympathetic green eyes, she feels her stomach twist.

"I… I'm _so sorry."_

Danny blinks. "For what?"

"For- " she takes a breath in an attempt to calm herself, " -the Danielle incident. Before we teamed up. I tortured you."

"Oh, that?" Danny says. "I'm not mad about that. I mean, it hurt, but I've had way worse."

"That doesn't make what I did any better!" Valerie snaps, which makes Danny take a deep breath.

A tiny smile flits across his face. "We both did some terrible shit to each other. Let's just call it even."

"You haven't done anything bad to-!"

"I revealed your secret to your dad," Danny interrupts, "and that was… really uncool of me. I'm sorry."

Valerie blinks a few times to ease the hot pressure she feels building up behind her eyes. "I forgive you. And… and I'm so sorry for all the terrible things I did to you."

"I forgive you, too." Danny says gently. "But we can probably have a real heart-to-heart or something later. Let's just get through today, and out of Illinois."

With a relieved sigh, Valerie feels her death-grip on the steering wheel ease. "Okay. Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

The charged air between the two of them feels less oppressive and stifling now that they've talked somewhat properly, which Valerie is grateful for. She's not sure she'd be able to keep her head up if this brief talk had gone differently. Now, though, she feels renewed energy flood through her veins, filling her with new determination and the resolve to face Vlad Masters and lie to his face.

She pulls into the driveway, parking at an angle that'll prevent Vlad from getting too good of a look into the car even if the distance isn't enough. Without bothering to shut off the engine, Valerie pushes some wild ringlets of hair out of her face and steps out onto the chilly asphalt as Danny shimmers and vanishes into thin air. _Perfect_.

Now, having utilized his invisibility, Danny should definitely be hidden from unwanted attention. With a deep breath, Valerie shuts the car door and makes her way purposefully towards the imposing front doors of Vlad's mayoral mansion. She pauses for a few moments to collect her thoughts before ringing the doorbell.

Shortly afterward, the doors creak open and Vlad's face peers out at her. A few moments pass where he stares at her in surprise, but soon recalls how he's supposed to act around her and gives her a too-bright smile. "Ah, Valerie! I was hoping you'd come visit; it's been quite lonely and boring here without you flying around and chasing those terrible ghosts away."

He certainly knows how to work a crowd, with his cunning words and shrewd manipulation tactics hidden behind a kind, compassionate shell. It disgusts Valerie, knowing that such a horrible person can make himself seem so completely different in order to lead people along like puppets. Despite how she wants to activate her wrist cannon and blast that slimy, smug look off Vlad's face, she keeps her cool and begins her own act.

"Oh, Mr. Masters, it's _horrible!"_ she cries, turning on the waterworks and lunging forward to hug him tight. "Th-the Guys in White, they… they found out about how I'm hunting ghosts! They're after me because they want me to tell them everything I know about the paranormal, I-I need help!"

Valerie feels a spark of dark satisfaction alight in her chest when she feels Vlad stiffen uncomfortably at her embrace, but still doesn't let it show outwardly. She needs to work her 'audience' the same way Vlad does if she wants this to go the way she planned.

"My dear, that's… that's simply awful," Vlad says before awkwardly returning the hug. "If there's anything I can do to help, all you have to do is ask. I will do what I can."

With an incredibly gross and convincing sniffle, Valerie backs out of Vlad's hug and wipes at her eyes. "I… I need m-money. S-so I can buy gas for my car a-and… and food, and everything. I'm running away. Just for a bit. I-I'm sorry, I can't help you with ghost hunting right now."

A strange look passes across Vlad's probing eyes. "Of course, my dear. Although I am certain there's a way you can help me in return."

Valerie does _not_ like where this is going. "What is it, Mr. Masters?"

His attention shifts from her to where her car remains parked down the driveway, and a smug smirk slips across his face as he hums, "It seems you have a nuisance hidden in your car, a very _particular _nuisance I've been after for quite some time. Turn him in to me, and I'll-"

In her year or so of ghost hunting, Valerie's grown quite intuned to the nuances of ghost behavior. Many of those behaviors can be applied to human beings as well, which is quite helpful in everyday life. So at the exact millisecond where Vlad's bloodthirsty hostility makes a vague appearance, Valerie acts reflexively, leaping out of striking range and activating her wrist cannon. Vlad stares at her in surprise for a heartbeat before chuckling to himself. "My, my, aren't you jumpy? You should know that ghost weapons have little to no effect on human beings-"

"_But you're not a full human being, are you?"_ Valerie interrupts, fixating the mayor with a glare that could unnerve the most violent of ghosts.

Revealing her full hand isn't ever Valerie's first or second strategy, seeing as it's fairly illogical, but the look of shock and dawning horror that replaces the cocky expression on Vlad's face almost makes this worth it. She bares her teeth in a savage grin, reveling in the upper hand she now has over the man who's done nothing but lie, lie, _lie,_ all while hiding the brilliant green blood that incessantly stains his hands.

Her glee only lasts a few seconds, though, because Vlad shows his own fangs in an equally predatory sneer and laughs haughtily. As he does, a ring of black light appears around him, reminding Valerie of those diagrams of black holes she'd had to study in science class one year. She fires off a few rapid shots as Vlad morphs into Plasmius, but he manages to activate his own intangibility before any of her attacks hit. With a curse hissed through gritted teeth, Valerie backpedals into the yard where she'll have more space to dodge and fight.

Vlad cackles from nowhere and everywhere at once, invisible as he flies around Valerie at breakneck speed. Right now, she has no idea where he is and summoning her board from the backseat would likely end up destroying her car windows, so she's limited to just her wrist cannon and her martial arts at the moment. Which, admittedly, is a little worrying in the face of such a formidable enemy as Vlad.

When he does finally show himself, it's far too late for Valerie to react, and she feels a spidery, gloved hand latch onto her right shoulder, twisting her arm so she can't whirl around and fire at him, and throws her across the frost-shrouded grass. When she hits the ground, all the air goes rushing out of her lungs with a wheeze, and she desperately tries to catch her breath as she staggers to her feet.

Vlad's already closing the distance at blinding speed, and Valerie drops into a fighting stance, ready to fight tooth and nail if she has to.

Though before the two of them even collide, Vlad's tackled sideways out of the air by a shimmering blur of black and white. After blinking away the shock, Valerie whirls around to see Danny, still in ghost form, land a nasty punch that snaps Vlad's head to the side. In the opening that follows, she expects Danny to keep pummeling him with blow after blow… but he backs away, hands flickering with neon green light, and takes a deep breath, presumably to ease his own anger.

Noticing this, Vlad rises to his feet with an icy laugh and rubs at the dark green bruise on his jaw. "Where'd that killer instinct go, Daniel? I thought I'd taught you better than that."

"You didn't teach me _shit," _Danny spits venomously. "And I can't believe I'm saying this… but I need your help for once."

"And what makes you think I'll willingly _offer_ my help?"

Danny drags a hand down his face with a long-suffering sigh before crossing his arms and fixating Vlad with a look that betrays just a bit of the vulnerability he's been feeling. "Look… you remember the ecto-acne situation? And the whole thing with Pariah Dark and Vortex?"

Vlad bares his fangs in a menacing grin. "Why yes, I remember them clearly. And if you think-"

"I helped you then. Even though I hated it, you came to me for help and I did that. I really didn't expect you to pay me back, but, uh, I guess I'm asking now."

"What sort of mess did you get yourself into that warrants such a change of heart?" Vlad prods.

Danny's stoic exterior cracks just enough for Vlad's eyes to glint with realization. With a scoff, the elder ghost exclaims, "Ah, they found out, did they?"

Valerie feels an icy chill run down her spine; she can pick up on the malicious intent radiating from Vlad's very being as he takes a cocky step towards Danny.

"What was that you said when we first met at my college reunion? 'My parents will accept me, no matter what'? I suppose that was an incorrect assumption, hm?"

With a sharp glance at Danny, Valerie silently begs him to stick up for himself, but he just stiffens, taking a step back with wide eyes. "L-look, it's not-"

"Your father is such an idiot, I wouldn't be surprised if he's accepting of what you are, but your _mother?"_ He clicks his tongue. "Well, she's always been able to push her emotions aside in the face of things she considers evil, such as ghosts."

In that moment, Vlad's eyes widen marginally with a hungry glint, and he sneers, "_If I were to call up your dear mother and tell her that I found you, wouldn't she just be _so _grateful to me?"_

"Shut _up_, you egotistical maniac!" Valerie snaps, which makes Vlad turn his blood-red gaze on her. "You guys are both half-ghost and half-human; you should be _helping_ each other instead of trying to one-up each other all the time!"

He laughs at her as if she's said the most stupid thing in the world, "Ah, but I've grown quite used to solitude over the years. I don't need to help a pitiful little boy playing at being a superhero, nor do I need help from him. I have much grander goals, more _realistic_ visions for the future."

Then, like a viper waiting for the perfect moment to spring into action, Vlad strikes hard and fast. His fist slams into Danny's stomach before the younger ghost can defend himself, making him cough glowing green blood before Vlad knocks his feet out from under him and pins him to the grass with a hand around his throat. Danny opens his mouth, probably to shout, but chokes when Vlad tightens his grip.

This shouldn't be an issue, as he doesn't need to breathe in ghost form, but he's human too- he likely breathes out of habit, and despite what she knows for certain, Valerie feels a spike of panic in her chest when she sees her friend gasp for air. She aims her wrist cannon at Vlad, who waggles his free finger at her while clicking his tongue, "Ah, ah~ you fire that little toy, and I'll snap our friend's neck here."

"You'd kill a _kid?!"_ Valerie spits, and Vlad shrugs nonchalantly.

"He's sixteen, old enough to drive, old enough to reason. He's practically an adult."

"_I'm gonna fucking-"_

Vlad glances down at Danny with a sneer. "If you're old enough to impede my progress, you're old enough to face oblivion. Speaking of which, what do you think lovely Maddie will do when I turn you over to her?"

Danny stiffens, his struggle against Vlad's grip ceasing as his green eyes widen in horror.

"_Vlad, shut up!"_ Valerie shouts, but he has the upper hand and is milking every moment of it.

"In our college days, she did presentations on ghosts. She even constructed a dummy ghost complete with fairly accurate organs and dissected it while explaining everything she knew about ghost biology." Danny's face has gone nearly as white as his hair, "First, she'd strap down the dummy with restraints that cannot be phased through, then she'd take samples of its flesh and blood. From there, she'd cut it open from chin to pelvis, use a powered bonesaw to break through any possible bone structure-"

Valerie fires her wrist cannon.

Vlad's so wrapped up in terrifying Danny that he doesn't react quickly enough and lets out a harsh cry of pain as pink energy hits him in the side. The ozone-stink of ectoplasm fills the air, and Valerie springs into action, covering the distance between her and Vlad before he can recover. She crashes into him, pinning him facedown on the grass, before slipping her anti-ghost restraints out of her wristband and securing his hands behind his back. Vlad hisses in pain as the brilliant pink energy burns his skin, but can't do anything other than shift into human form and lie still on the ground, so Valerie isn't too concerned.

As she backs away, however, she takes notice of Vlad's wallet sticking out of his back pocket. After contemplating whether or not it's a good idea, she pulls it out of his back pocket and pulls out a stack of $20 bills that a billionaire like Vlad certainly won't miss.

"You know, I can have you arrested for theft and assault when the police arrive," Vlad begins, but Valerie gives him a smirk.

She raises her wrist to show him her wrist cannon. "Y'know, for a billionaire and a supposed genius, you _really _like to forget what tech you put in the weapons you created. Because I could upload the bodycam footage of you going ghost and attacking Amity Park's resident hero and destroy your whole little empire in an instant."

Finally, Vlad's smile fades and he looks at her in a new light.

Perhaps not like a superior individual, but like a legitimate _threat. _And if Valerie can make one of the most powerful ghosts- and humans- she's met feel that way? Then by God, she'll savor it.

"I suppose you've bested me for now," Vlad says slowly, as if it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. "I'll keep quiet about this little spat, and you can take what you want from my wallet. It's all pocket change to me."

"Why thank you, Mayor Masters, you're so _kind_ and _generous,_" Valerie drawls, which makes Vlad's scowl grow even deeper.

Before she can harass him further, though, she catches sight of Danny slowly rising to his feet and changes her mind; there's more important things to do than stomp on Vlad Masters' ego. With one last glare at the thoroughly-beaten man, she retracts her weapon and walks across the grass to where Danny stares blankly at his boots. She doesn't say anything to him, not wanting to stress him out more, but places a gentle hand on his shoulder and guides him over to the car.

Once he's regained enough awareness to open his own door, Valerie leaves him, walking around to the driver's seat before looking back at where Vlad lies flat on the ground and shouts, "_The restraints will wear out in an hour! Have fun!"_

She doesn't bother looking back at Vlad; he doesn't deserve a second look. Instead, she double-checks the gas tank- _Oh, good. We have enough to get out of Illinois-_ before shifting the vehicle from park to drive and pulling around to leave Vlad's estate.

Neither of them speaks until they're out of Amity Park's town limits, rumbling down the highway with the city's skyline slowly growing more distant behind them.

Valerie looks at Danny in the passenger seat, who's shifted back into human form and leans against the window with his eyes trained on the passing scenery. He looks like he'd be fine just staring out the window for the entirety of their impromptu road trip, but after seeing that whole confrontation between him and Vlad, she can't just leave him be. Not with so many dark thoughts rattling around in his head.

"Danny?"

"Hm."

Valerie taps her fingers on the steering wheel. "I'm not gonna be nosy or try getting into your head or whatever, but… y'know, if you wanna talk about anything, you can."

He doesn't stop looking out the window, but something in his melancholy expression softens at her words. "Okay. I'll… I'll let you know if I need to talk."

They lapse into silence for a time, but Valerie has always been a social butterfly and can't take the silence for long. So, when she finally comes up with a proper conversation topic that _doesn't _pertain to anything heavy, she immediately says it.

"Wait, Vlad wants to screw your _mom?"_

Danny's head snaps up from the window to look at Valerie, and the cartoonish look of disgust on his face makes her laugh so hard the car swerves. And despite the shadows that lurk in Danny's eyes, he lets out an exasperated groan and drags his hands down his face hard enough that his lower eyelids are dragged down as well.

"Look, he's just… one _seriously_ crazed-up fruit loop. It's horrifying."

Valerie laughs again. "I didn't believe you before, but now? _God,_ we could make a twitter page dedicated to just the horrible crap Vlad's said and done."

"I forgot my phone at home, so maybe we can stop by a public library somewhere and start up a page. We can call it '_ CrazedUpFruitLoop' _and we don't have to call him out by name, but if he sees it, _he'll know."_

Pulling over so she doesn't cause a wreck, Valerie lapses into laughter at the idea. Forehead against the steering wheel, sides aching, she revels in their momentary cheer.

Though it grows even nicer when she proposes her own silly idea for their theoretical Twitter page, and Danny starts laughing as well.

* * *

_**Vlad is crusty. He's an interesting character but if I saw him in public I'd beat him with a folding chair. Nasty bastard man.**_

_**I don't understand the danny phandom's fixation with vlad being a mentor/father figure to danny like. This dude deadass tortured this kid and always goes out of his way to make his life hell. Why would you let this sociopath within twelve nautical miles of a child when Frostbite and Clockwork are right there yo. Icedad and Timedad.**_

_**Vlad 'WillTryToFrickYourMom' Masters is invalid and stinky.**_

_**Anyways, if you want more tomfoolery from me, I'm /hitamory on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram!**_

_**Thank you so much to my friend Aster ( /typhlosionquirq on Twitter) for beta-reading my fics all the time!**_


End file.
